Who are you calling a loyal minister? You're a loyal minister, and so is your whole family!

Ma Hei had gained quite a few fortuitous opportunities lately and had made some progress.

On top of that, he had fought bloody battles against many experts at the peak of the heavenly abyss realm during the Northern Expedition, gaining new insights into his cultivation realm.

That was why he had gone into seclusion yesterday, beginning his search for his own path.

The Western Expedition was not actually a bad thing for Ma Hei. He would surely fight more bloody battles against experts with different cultivation methods, and the insights he gained would be different too.

Ma Hei had also discovered that, by Xu Zifeng's side, no matter what dangers he encountered, even when each ordeal left him with only a slim chance of survival, he always managed to turn danger into safety and reap benefits.

Even if there was danger, Ma Hei was still willing to take the risk as long as the rewards were high enough.

His lifelong dream was to break through to the saint realm, a dream shared by countless cultivators at the peak of the heavenly abyss realm.

With that thought, Ma Hei went with Xu Zifeng to report to the Ministry of War.

But when they passed the County Yamen, Xu Zifeng suddenly remembered something. He bought a few things nearby and went into its prison to visit someone.

Inside the gloomy prison, Atad, a former member of the Northern Envoys, lay on a pile of dry straw, bored out of his mind.

Just then, two familiar faces walked in.

"Aren't you surprised to see me?" Xu Zifeng teased.

He had thought Atad would surely ask why he had not visited for so long, or ask about the fighting in the Northern Region.

"I already know what happened. I heard you earned great merit